Help with family Paris trip?

[123LuckyMom]

We have the opportunity to go to Paris this August with the kids. Life has been tough lately, and I’m kind of exhausted. The thought of planning (and going on) a trip has me overwhelmed, but I really don’t want to pass up this opportunity. It would be the first time to France for the children and DH. We’d have a week there, and we’re hoping not to break the bank on this trip, since it’s an extra trip we hadn’t planned on. Would any of you be willing to share advice on trip planning, especially suggestions for where to stay and eat? If you’re willing to share your whole itinerary, I’d jump for joy! My children are 9 and 6. They love museums and are comfortable in churches and with religious iconography, so I’m not too worried about taking them sightseeing. I just have no energy or time to plan this trip, and it has to be done soon!


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[hillview]

Consider a VRBO
Personally we prefer to plan one thing per day
Consider hiring a private guide for the Louvre — check tripadvisor
Get Eiffel Tower tickets ahead of time online (timed tickets, saves a long wait)
We got the 3 day bateaux-mouches ticket and used it enough for it to be worth it and the kids liked it
The kids are not museum / church kids and we hate lines to YMMV
Honestly for me just being in Paris and hanging out is 100% worth it and you don’t have to plan a ton
Here is what I would do:
My kids LOVED Luxumberg Gardens we went almost once a day to the playground there.

Day 1 — recover
Day 2 — Norte Dame/Gelato tasting through the ile saint louis (get the boat tickets)
Day 3 — Eiffel Tower (use boat tickets)
Day 4 — Louvre (determine if you want to go a second day) use boat tickets
Day 5 — Luxumberg Gardens (and see a puppet show)/Nutella crepe tasting
Day 6 — Possible second day of Louvre
Day 7 — travel/shop etc

This seems like a good place to start
https://pintsizepilot.com/things-to-...ris-with-kids/

[DualvansMommy]

Do the river Seine tour. It’s always really well done and gives you a nice capture of all the popular tourist spots; do that first day or next morning of your arrival.




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[123LuckyMom]

Consider a VRBO
Personally we prefer to plan one thing per day
Consider hiring a private guide for the Louvre — check tripadvisor
Get Eiffel Tower tickets ahead of time online (timed tickets, saves a long wait)
We got the 3 day bateaux-mouches ticket and used it enough for it to be worth it and the kids liked it
The kids are not museum / church kids and we hate lines to YMMV
Honestly for me just being in Paris and hanging out is 100% worth it and you don’t have to plan a ton
Here is what I would do:
My kids LOVED Luxumberg Gardens we went almost once a day to the playground there.

Day 1 — recover
Day 2 — Norte Dame/Gelato tasting through the ile saint louis (get the boat tickets)
Day 3 — Eiffel Tower (use boat tickets)
Day 4 — Louvre (determine if you want to go a second day) use boat tickets
Day 5 — Luxumberg Gardens (and see a puppet show)/Nutella crepe tasting
Day 6 — Possible second day of Louvre
Day 7 — travel/shop etc

This seems like a good place to start
https://pintsizepilot.com/things-to-...ris-with-kids/

This is really helpful, and I’ll look into the Seine tours. Which arrondissement would you recommend for a VRBO? I’ve only ever stayed in the Marais, but that might be too pricey or maybe not as good for accessing tourist stuff. I don’t really know.


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[hillview]

we love the Marais and that is all we've done.

[HannaAddict]

Viator or other tour company is your friend. It is so much more enjoyable and easy on families to skip the line for the main sites, Eiffel Tower (we did river tour at dusk and skip the line for tower at night and it was beautiful), Notre Dame with a guide was great and easy, and Versailles. There is a tour company that does kid-centric Louvre tours and well worth the money. I stayed with my daughter in St Germain and love the area. Marais is nice too. She loved the food, bread, macaroons and steak frites. I like the Relais Christine and they have suites but it isn’t inexpensive. You will have so much fun hair walking and eating, we love Paris.


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[StantonHyde]

Check out www.onefinestay for a nice selection of homes/apartments to rent . We used them when we went to London. They had great service and various price ranges. Grab the Insight Family Guide to Paris. Had all the info you need for kid friendly attractions, food in the area etc.

[andie16]

We had a fantastic trip to Paris this past spring break with kids ages 14, 11, and 8. It was cold and rainy, but we still walked a ton and were able to do a lot. We rented an apartment near the Marais and relied heavily on the metro.

Our days looked like this (forgive my spelling):
Day 1 - Arc de Triomphe
Day 2 - (am) Notre Dame; (pm) Chocolate and Pastry Tour of the Marais (booked through Viator)
Day 3 - (am) Louvre (private tour through Paris Muse); (evening) Eiffel Tower (tickets booked online ahead of time; timed so we were up in the tower while it was still daylight, then had dinner and were able to watch the lights come on - easier to achieve in April than in August, but definitely worth the wait for us)
Day 4 - (am) l'Orangerie and jumping on trampolines in Tuileries Gardens; (pm) Montmartre/Sacre Coeur; Picasso Museum (we were staying close to here and it was easy to pop in for a quick visit right before closing); playground at Les Halles
Day 5 - (am) French Revolution walking tour (booked through Paris Muse); (pm) Saint Chapelle and quick trip back to Louvre at 11 yo DS's request
Day 6 - (am) Orsay; (pm) Luxembourg Gardens

We wanted to do a boat ride/tour, but the weather was really not conducive. There was also a small playground near our apartment that we went to a few times. Would recommend the Paris Museum Pass if you are planning to go to multiple museums. Have fun!

[baymom]

We spent 8 nights in Paris last year and loved our location. It was the Hotel Novotel in Chatelet Les Halles. It’s an ‘apartihotel’ so there was a kitchenette (fully stocked with a dishwasher) and a laundry room downstairs, but still a hotel in that they will clean your room and there is a lobby and a restaurant. The best part of it was the central location. We could walk everywhere from there (Notre Dame, les Marais, Louvre, Pompidou Center, etc) and it was a 2 minute walk to the main train station. We were lucky to have so many days to explore just Paris, especially since we all love museums. We would definitely stay at the Novotel again!

ETA: get the Paris City pass to bypass lines at major museums and sites. We got the 7 day pass, but I think there is a 3 day option as well. They must be redeemed in consecutive days, so plan accordingly. For us, the passes saved us a ton of money.

[elbert]

We took two lovely small group bike tours when we were there - one to Giverney and the other to Versailles. It was nice to be active when "sightseeing". I think each had three families? We rode to outdoor markets, had picnics, and saw things from a different perspective when being on wheels (for example, the countryside and more of the grounds of Versailles). We found them to be nice complements to our days in the city.


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